“She had been staying in The Cat Hospital in Cork, a purposely built veterinary clinic designed exclusively for cats,” recalls Patrick. “I first heard about Stevie when her story was being shared on Facebook by people in my area, and it really resonated with me.”

When it comes to Stevie’s day-to-day indoor cat life, it turns out she’s a pro at getting around.

“As long as she’s somewhere familiar, you might not even know she was blind,” says Patrick. “She can open doors, run up stairs, even jump up on the couch.”

That said, there is one caveat: “She knows where everything is, and that’s important if you’re living with a blind animal — once you move furniture around she has to completely relearn the design of the room. That can take hours, sometimes days.”

Patrick says he was “amazed” at how quickly she mastered her inaugural hike.

“She relies on the sounds of my footsteps to know it’s safe to keep walking in that direction,” he explains. “She uses her tail and whiskers to navigate around objects extremely well. Like any animal, she does get tired eventually, and when that happens she’s perfectly content to sit on my shoulders.”

Patrick adds that when Stevie is out, she usually keeps her head low when walking. That way she can feel out any objects in her path with her whiskers.

He also says Stevie is usually the one leading their hikes: “The main trick here is to let her decide where to go — cats hate being restricted, so it’s important to allow her the courtesy of being free to explore. I just tag along.”

Next up on Stevie’s itinerary is an epic jaunt up Carrauntoohil, the highest mountain in Ireland. (The trip is part of a series of fundraising efforts Stevie is involved in.) In anticipation of that, you can check out her famous hiking adventure in the video below.